FAQ

1Who are Robertson Wine Tours?

Robertson wine tours consists of two owners Tim Robertson the founder and Cristian Brisacani who joined the company in 2011. The Company is a registered Italian SRL and we continue with our South American base in Uruguay. Our rapid success and expansion in Italy confirms to us that we can offer a unique product, there is just no other Eno Touristic Agency based in Italy that can give you the depth and breadth that we can. Why? Well not only having been selling the finest Italian wines since 1988 our network of contacts in the wine making realm means that the wineries and wine makers know we are serious, we always keep our appointments and always match the right type of client to the winery so our clients will always be received by an intelligent and knowledgable representative of the winery.

2Who are our customers?

Robertson Wine tours clients tend to wine lovers from all over the World. Clients who have travelled with us in other countries in South America are now scheduling tours with us in Italy and beyond (France and Portugal and Spain) clients who have travelled with us once often travel with us again and again as they trust us. Generally our business is split 60% from the USA and Canada with the remainder from pretty much everywhere. Our clients tend to be wine lovers, they tend to have travelled to different wine regions and are looking for something a little bit special. Our clients tend towards couples, families and friends and often we work with wine clubs and restaurants and wine shops. Tour group sizes number from one to 25 and rarely ever exceed that number.
Tours range from one day to to a month with the majority being around 7/10 nights.
Self Drive. If clients have their own car no problem but you need to keep the car keys away for the days out in wine and food. If you plan to do everything in your own car we are not for you.

3Do Robertson Wine Tours work with Travel Agencies?

Yes; Robertson Wine Tours do occasionally work with Travel Agents. As what we do as travel designers is a very personal thing we tend to try to have as much direct with the end customer as possible, we understand that might make some Agents a little fearful, If that is the case then it is extremely hard for for us to do our job properly.

4What if I do not want to focus on Wine?

We imagine there are so many places and sights you would like to see in conjunction with the wineries and gastronomic experiences. Italy in our mind is the richest country in the world, be it art, history and architecture. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming, what to do and what to leave out; Through our conversations we will find out how you like to travel, what is important and whats not and we proceed like that. Trying to see and do too much is always the temptation.

5How do we price and how do you make Payment for the tours?

This is the cost in Italy if you are looking for top of the line touring and tastings with expert guide, transport and lunches etc. This is exclusive of accommodation. These costs are based on 2 Passengers travelling, these estimated costs decrease rapidly as the number of passengers increase. Naturally some days will attract no costs and some regions and times of the year are more economic than others. As a guide one should be expecting to pay per person 400 to 500 Euros per day inclusive of everything but accommodation.
Robertson Wine tours accept Credit Cards.
RWT tours are priced in US Dollars and Euros and we can accept both.
We also accept bank wine transfers to our business accounts.
Our company is a registered Italian Srl Partita Iva (VAT) is 01266010774.

6What types of accommodation can we expect?

Our clients like to switch between a range of accommodations ranging from sleeping in 5 star world famous hotels to castles and masserias.
Clients normally define what type of accommodation and servies they require and then we start to show various options. Effort is made not to use corporate and or chains where we can help it. Hotels with individual personality and a management who care about you are our mainstay.
If you want to book your hotels yourselves, no problem. We prefer to have everything under control and we also receive a commission that you will not. When we book we also have more ability to choose the right room and get you an upgrade.

7What makes your service any different from the other companies?

Our USP (Unique Selling point) is that we can talk wine at every level and all the wineries we work with know this. You could be sitting on a roof top in Venice and we can present Nebbiolo from Piedmont or be enjoying the nature of a Masseria in Puglia while tasting the orange wines Fruili. We do not know anyone who does what we do and who can do it throughout Italy. Our strategy is to make wine approachable and to destroy so many of these snobberies and myths that unfortunately surround wine. Wine is fun, enjoyable and non competitive. Couple that with our careers in hospitality at the highest level and you have a winning formula for us and our guests. If you read our testimonials you will understand what we mean.

8What security & financial protection is there?

Cancellation and travel delay by the client are normally covered by most travel insurance policies, accordingly we gently advise that a travel insurance is taken out that will protect you and your family in any eventuality. We purchase all our services and can provide you with booking references, invoices of all the service providers, airline reservations, hotels we have made. Purchasing with credit cards is another way of ensuring protection. When some of our clients experiences can reach many 10s of thousands we think trip cancellation insurance could be a good if you need to covers all bases.

9What are Robertson Wine Tours Terms and Conditions?

Our tours comprise exclusively land arrangements, hosting, air flights, guiding & meals and hotels where noted in the itinerary.
Inclusions: Meals where noted in the itinerary as wines, and non-alcoholic beverages with meals; transportation throughout by air-conditioned vehicle; gratuities, transfers on arrival/departure days as noted in itinerary, and services of our guides and hosts.
Exclusions: International Airline tickets. Trip cancellation insurance; meals not noted; items of personal nature (laundry, room service, telephone calls, etc). Alcoholic beverages other than mentioned, deviations to the itinerary; transfers not part of group itinerary; optional activities. Selected airport departure taxes; excess baggage charges; cost of obtaining passport or visas. RWT are not responsible for immigration and visa issues.
Deposit: Generally a deposit of 30% of total itinerary is required to secure reservations; and is reimbursable less the minimum cancellation fee; until 90 days prior to the trip, after which the cancellation terms at the bottom of this page apply. The final payment is due 60 days prior to departure and is refundable with a written cancellation made until 45 days prior to departure.
Transportation: Clients book their own air. We advise on the flight times and of course keep flight information up to date and work with your airport transfers.
RWT purchases transportation (by aircraft, coach, train, vessel or otherwise), hotel and other lodging accommodations, restaurant, ground handling and other services from various independent suppliers). All such persons and entities are independent contractors. As a result RWT is not liable for any negligent or wilful act of any such person or entity or of any third person.
In addition and without limitation, RWT is not responsible for any injury, loss, death, inconvenience, delay or damage to personal property in connection with the provision of any goods or services whether resulting from but not limited to acts of God or force majeure, illness, disease, acts of war, civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, animals, strikes or other labour activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, overbooking or downgrading of services, food poisoning, mechanical or other failure of aircraft or other means of transportation or for failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart on time.
Payment of the program price constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions set out herein and in all the specific itinerary documentation we will provide you with.
RWT like any niche company we can show flexibility when it comes to terms and conditions.
Cancellation policy:
90 to 60 days before arrival date, 25% of total cost for itinerary.
59 to 30 days before arrival date, 50% of total cost for itinerary.
30 to 10 days before arrival date, 100% of total cost.
If we have not discussed your particular query, just drop us a mail [email protected]

10How do we pay?

Our company is a registered Italian Srl Partita Iva (VAT) is 01266010774.
Robertson Wine tours all Credit Cards and accept bank transfers to our business accounts.
RWT tours are priced in US Dollars and Euros and we accept both.
PLEASE NOTE. If you are the owner of a business with a tax code and if the payment comes from there y we can save unnecessary taxes.(Ask for details)
How do we price your tour?
The cost in Italy if you are looking for top of the line touring and tastings with expert guide, transport and lunches etc. As a guide one should be expecting to pay per person 400 to 500 Euros per day inclusive of everything but accommodation. Naturally some days will attract no costs and some regions and times of the year are more economic than others.These costs are based on 2 Passengers travelling, these estimated costs decrease rapidly as the number of passengers increase.

According to an old South American story, when God finished creating the earth, the angels in charge of shaping the land came to him and said: “We’ve got a lot of mountains, valleys, and rivers left over; what should we do with them?” God answered, “Dump them at the end of the earth.” And that, fortuitously for grape growers and winemakers, is how Chile and Argentina were created.
Evan Goldstein

South America wine production ranks Argentina as the biggest wine producer in South America, followed by Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia.

Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine.

Charles Dickens

Many young offspring of established old World winemakers come to Argentina and Chile to make their own marks and revel in the level of independence and creativity; These young and dynamic wine makers can show themselves in their wines and this youthful spirit makes for some extremely exciting wines.